Airway management in the obese child

Association of BMI With Propofol Dosing and Adverse Events in Children With Cancer Undergoing Procedural Sedation

OBJECTIVES

Obesity increases the risk of complications during pediatric procedural sedation. The risk of being underweight has not been evaluated in this arena. We therefore investigated the association of BMI with sedation dosing and adverse events in children across a range of BMIs.

METHODS

A total of 1976 patients ages 2 to 21 years old with oncologic diagnoses underwent lumbar punctures and/or bone marrow aspirations. All children received a standard adjunctive dose of ketamine before sedation with propofol. Weight categories were stratified by BMI percentile: underweight <5%, normal weight 5% to 85%, overweight >85%, and obese >95%. Dosing and adverse events (hypoxia, apnea, bradycardia, or hypotension) were reviewed.

RESULTS

There were no differences in propofol dosing for procedural sedation between patients who were normal weight and underweight. However, children who were overweight and those who were obese used less propofol compared with children who were normal weight (P < .01). Children who were underweight had a higher proportion of adverse events overall relative to those children of normal weight (P < .001). In contrast, there was not an increase in adverse events for patients who were overweight and obese.

CONCLUSIONS

Children who are overweight and children with obesity who require deep sedation can undergo successful sedation with lower propofol dosing relative to children of a normal weight. This dosing strategy may help to mitigate the risks associated with sedating patients who are obese. Notably, children who were underweight had an increased rate of complications despite receiving an equal amount of sedation compared with patients who were normal weight. This should alert the clinicians to the risks associated with sedating children who are underweight.

Obesity and Pulmonary Function in Polio Survivors

Objective

To examine the correlation between obesity and pulmonary function in polio survivors.

Methods

This study was conducted based on a questionnaire survey and physical examination. The questionnaire included gender, age, paralyzed regions, physical activity levels, and accompanying diseases. The physical examination included measuring body mass index, waist circumference, muscle power, total fat amount, body fat percentage, and lean body mass. In addition, pulmonary function was tested based on forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), ratio of FEV1 to FVC, and chest circumference. Five university hospitals and a local health clinic participated in this study.

Results

Pearson and partial correlation coefficients that used data collected from 73 polio survivors showed that obesity had a negative correlation with pulmonary function.

Conclusion

This study found that pulmonary function has a negative correlation with obesity for polio survivors. Therefore, it is necessary to develop specialized exercise programs to help polio survivors reduce their weight and strengthen their respiratory muscles.

Implementing a pediatric obesity care guideline in a freestanding children's hospital to improve child safety and hospital preparedness

Medical and surgical care of children with severe obesity is complicated and requires recognition of the problem, appropriate equipment, and safe management. There is little literature describing patient, provider, and institutional needs for the severely obese pediatric patient. Nonetheless, the limited data suggest 3 broad categories of needs unique to this population: (a) airway management, (b) drug dosing and pharmacology, and (c) equipment and infrastructure. We describe an opportunity at the Children's Hospital Colorado to better prepare and optimize care for this patient population by creation of a Pediatric Obesity Care Guideline that focused on key areas of quality and safety.

Anatomy and assessment of the pediatric airway

Airway and respiratory complications are the most common causes of morbidity during general anesthesia in children. The airway changes in size, shape and position throughout its development from the neonate to the adult (1). Knowledge of the functional anatomy of the airway in children forms the basis of understanding the pathological conditions that may occur. This in turn allows a comprehensive assessment of the pediatric airway to take place, including a detailed medical history, clinical examination and specific investigative procedures.

Perianesthesia respiratory care of the bariatric patient

Our nation's obesity problem has reached epidemic proportions and is only projected to worsen. The morbidly obese patient is at risk for experiencing a multitude of health-related conditions. Morbidly obese patients are presenting for surgery at an increasing rate, especially with the growing popularity of weight-loss surgery. Therefore the perianesthesia nurse has to remain informed of optimal care strategies for this sometimes challenging population. The obese patient presents with distinct respiratory care considerations of which the perianesthesia nurse must be knowledgeable. This review article will specifically focus on the respiratory care of the bariatric patient presenting for surgery.

Upper airway diseases and airway management: a synopsis

This article summarizes some of the more important upper airway conditions likely to affect airway management. A number of upper airway conditions may present difficult challenges to the anesthesiologist. For instance, infected airway structures may lead to partial airway obstruction, stridor, or even complete airway obstruction. Partial airway obstruction may be mild, as in snoring or nasal congestion, or may be more severe, perhaps requiring the use of airway adjuncts, such as a nasopharyngeal airway. Complete airway obstruction is usually managed by prompt intubation, but surgical airways are sometimes needed as a last resort.